Free Nightfall (Book 1) by L. R. Flint Page A

two started to argue with me. “Please,” I said.
    “Alright.” Ekaitz was the first to break the silence but Arrats soon followed suit.
     
    ~ ~ ~
     
    Unused to as much light as my new sight provided, I had to sleep with my head wound tightly in my blanket. It helped a little, but not as much as I would have liked. I spent that entire night tossing and turning, my bones and muscles ached and no matter what position I moved into, nothing helped and I barely slept. I woke from my uneasy sleep an hour after sunup, to find the cellar empty of everyone but myself; my friends’ voices floated to me softly on the breeze. I awoke completely and rolled away my blanket before standing. In my haste, I lost my balance and fell over; again I attempted to rise, but yet again the same result occurred. Frustrated, I crawled over to the wall and slowly stood, using the solid surface to steady me.
    I stood there for a moment, hoping the unsteadiness would pass. As I waited, I realized that I was much lighter than I was used to, but I could not determine the cause; overnight I could not have lost enough weight to make a difference. Slowly I grabbed my shirt and walked cautiously from the cellar, taking careful steps and staying close to the wall for as long as I could. “Good morning,” I said to my friends as I crossed the uppermost step.
    “Good…” I looked up when Arrats stopped, mid-sentence, and the distraction caused me to fall over again, my concentration broken. The two boys were staring at me with their mouths agape and Eskarne whistled admiringly, as if my fumbling had been the greatest feat of strength or agility ever attempted by mankind.
    “What happened to you?” Ekaitz finally asked in awe, as I slowly stood. I chose not to reply since it was only too obvious that what had happened was that I had fallen over.
    “Very nice,” Eskarne added.
    “Excuse me?”
    “You look rather dashing,” she clarified.
    “Oh. Thank you.” I blushed at the unexpected remark but lucky for me, my skin was naturally dark enough to let the tinge go unnoticed. I far from understood the reason behind her words, but if she was going to compliment me, I would not argue. Eskarne rolled her eyes and called a flat piece of metal from Lietha, then handed it to me.
    “What is this for?” I asked, taking the metal skeptically.
    “A mirror.”
    “I already know about my eyes,” I said.
    “Just look.” I followed her direction and looked at my reflection on the plate; my bright, solid green eyes stared back at me from below regally arched brows. I held the mirror out at arms’ length and first glared at my reflection, then smiled hugely, before gazing imposingly at myself. Ekaitz and Arrats chuckled, but Eskarne was far from amused by my antics. “Look at your face,” she growled.
    “I thought that was my face.” Her only reaction was to glare at me until I gave in and inspected my face, from my jaw up to my forehead. “Alright, so something changed but—oh, wait, it was my eyes. I forgot.”
    “Your face looks more refined; basically you look too good to be you.”
    “Ouch,” Arrats chuckled. I glanced back at my reflection and realized that the first of Eskarne’s comments were correct. I no longer looked quite the same as I had, but the changes were far from drastic. I assumed that I could possibly have passed for an elf.
    “I am curious to know why you fell over when you saw us,” Arrats said.
    “You should have seen me when I woke up,” I chuckled.
    “Meaning what?” Eskarne asked.
    “I feel really light and it has left me off balance.”
    “Sure,” Ekaitz scoffed and I just glared at him. As she stepped next to me, Eskarne punched my shoulder lightly and said my face was not the only thing to have changed. I looked down at my bare chest and saw that my muscles were more defined and, for once, abs lined my stomach. I then turned my attention to my arms and, as I moved to a few different poses, flexed my biceps.